[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67369-67371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21416]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
[Agency Docket Number DOL-2023-xxxx]
Efforts by Certain Foreign Countries To Eliminate the Worst Forms
of Child Labor; Identify Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Forced or
Indentured Child Labor in the Production of Goods in Foreign Countries;
and Share Business Practices To Reduce the Likelihood of Forced Labor
or Child Labor in the Production of Goods
AGENCY: The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, United States
Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice; request for information and invitation to comment.
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SUMMARY: This notice is a request for information and/or comment on
three reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs
(ILAB) regarding child labor and forced labor in certain foreign
countries. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by
the Department of Labor (DOL) in preparing its ongoing reporting as
required under Congressional mandates and a Presidential directive.
DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide their
submission to DOL's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human
Trafficking (OCFT) at the email or physical address below by December
15, 2023.
ADDRESSES:
To Submit Information: Information should be submitted directly to
OCFT, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor.
Comments, identified as Docket No. DOL-2023-xxxx, may be submitted by
any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: The portal includes instructions for
submitting comments. Parties submitting responses electronically are
encouraged not to submit paper copies.
Facsimile (fax): OCFT at 202-693-4830.
Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery, and Messenger Service (1
copy): Matthew Fraterman, U.S. Department of Labor, OCFT, Bureau of
International Labor Affairs, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room S-5315,
Washington, DC 20210.
Email: Email submissions should be addressed to Matthew Fraterman
([email protected]).
508 Compliance: Pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended. Section 508 became enforceable on
June 21, 2001, and the Revised 508 standards issued by the United
States Access Board (36 CFR part 1194), January 2018 require that
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) procured, developed,
maintained, and used by Federal departments and agencies is accessible
to and usable by Federal employees and members of the public including
people with disabilities. All documents received in electronic format
must be accessible using assistive technologies such as a screen
reader, e.g., Job Aid with Speech (JAWS), NonVisual Desktop Access
(NVDA), ZoomText, to name a few. The product should also be navigable
using other means such as a keyboard or voice commands. Accessible
document formats are either Microsoft Word or equivalent and Portable
Document Format with OCR.
The Department of Labor requests that your submissions through the
portal comply with our DOL Policies as well as the 508 Standards as
referenced above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Fraterman
([email protected]). Telephone: 202-693-4770.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor (TDA Report), published on September 26, 2023, assesses
efforts of 131 countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in
2022 and assesses whether countries made significant, moderate,
minimal, or no advancement during that year. It also suggests actions
foreign countries can take to eliminate the worst forms of child labor
through legislation, enforcement, coordination, policies, and social
programs. The 2022 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor
or Forced Labor (TVPRA List), published on September 21, 2022, makes
available to the public a list of goods from countries that ILAB has
reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in
violation of international standards, including, to the extent
practicable, goods that are produced with inputs that are produced with
forced labor or child labor. DOL welcomes new information on any of the
goods identified on the TVPRA List. Finally, the List of Products
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor (E.O. List), provides a
list of products, identified by country of origin, that DOL, in
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and
Homeland Security (DHS), has a reasonable basis to believe might have
been mined, produced, or manufactured with forced or indentured child
labor. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by DOL
in preparing the next edition of the TDA Report, to be published in
2024; the next edition of the TVPRA List, which will also be published
in 2024; and for possible updates to the E.O. List as needed.
This notice is also a request for information and/or comment on
Comply Chain: Business Tools for Labor Compliance in Global Supply
Chains (Comply Chain). ILAB is seeking information on current practices
of firms, business associations, and other private sector groups to
reduce the likelihood of child labor and forced labor in the production
of goods. This information and/or comment is sought to fulfill ILAB's
mandate under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of
2005 (TVPRA) to work with persons who are involved in the production of
goods made with forced labor or child labor. Comply Chain seeks to
address this mandate through the creation of a standard set of
practices for worker-driven social compliance that will reduce the
likelihood that such persons will produce goods using forced labor or
child labor. Comply Chain also achieves a much broader purpose by
actively supporting the efforts of companies that seek to address these
issues within their own supply chains. Relevant information and/or
comment submitted to ILAB will be used to improve and
[[Page 67370]]
update Comply Chain to better meet the mandates of the TVPRA and help
companies and industry groups seeking to develop robust social
compliance systems for their global production.
I. The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA), Public Law 106-200
(2000), established eligibility criterion for receipt of trade benefits
under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The TDA amended the
GSP reporting requirements of section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19
U.S.C. 2464, to require that the President's annual report on the
status of internationally recognized worker rights include ``findings
by the Secretary of Labor with respect to the beneficiary country's
implementation of its international commitments to eliminate the worst
forms of child labor.''
The TDA Conference Report clarifies this mandate, indicating that
the President consider the following when considering whether a country
is complying with its obligations to eliminate the worst forms of child
labor: (1) whether the country has adequate laws and regulations
proscribing the worst forms of child labor; (2) whether the country has
adequate laws and regulations for the implementation and enforcement of
such measures; (3) whether the country has established formal
institutional mechanisms to investigate and address complaints relating
to allegations of the worst forms of child labor; (4) whether social
programs exist in the country to prevent the engagement of children in
the worst forms of child labor, and to assist with the removal of
children engaged in the worst forms of child labor; (5) whether the
country has a comprehensive policy for the elimination of the worst
forms of child labor; and (6) whether the country is making continual
progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor.
DOL fulfills this reporting mandate through annual publication of
the U.S. Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child
Labor. To access the 2022 TDA Report please visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings.
II. Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164
(2006), 22 U.S.C. 7112(b), as amended by section 133 of the Frederick
Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2018, Public Law 115-425 (2019), directs the Secretary of Labor,
acting through ILAB, to ``develop and make available to the public a
list of goods from countries that [ILAB] has reason to believe are
produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international
standards, including, to the extent practicable, goods that are
produced with inputs that are produced with forced labor or child
labor'' (TVPRA List). It also asks ILAB ``to work with persons who are
involved in the production of goods on the list . . . to create a
standard set of practices that will reduce the likelihood that such
persons will produce goods using [child labor or forced labor]''
(Comply Chain).
Pursuant to this mandate, DOL published in the Federal Register a
set of procedural guidelines that ILAB follows in developing the TVPRA
List. 72 FR 73374 (Dec. 27, 2007). The guidelines set forth the
criteria by which information is evaluated; established procedures for
public submission of information to be considered by ILAB; and
identified the process ILAB follows in maintaining and updating the
List after its initial publication. DOL published an update to the
procedural guidelines to incorporate the expanded requirement to
include ``to the extent practicable, goods that are produced with
inputs that are produced with forced labor or child labor. 85 FR 29487
(May 15, 2020). ILAB will amend the procedural guidelines as necessary.
ILAB published its first TVPRA List on September 30, 2009, and has
issued 9 updates. The next TVPRA List will be published in 2024. For a
copy of previous editions of the TVPRA List and other materials
relating to the TVPRA List, see ILAB's TVPRA web page.
III. Executive Order No. 13126 (E.O. 13126) declared that it was
``the policy of the United States Government . . . that the executive
agencies shall take appropriate actions to enforce the laws prohibiting
the manufacture or importation of goods, wares, articles, and
merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by
forced or indentured child labor.'' Pursuant to E.O. 13126, and
following public notice and comment, the Department of Labor published
in the January 18, 2001, Federal Register, a list of products (``E.O.
List''), identified by country of origin, that the Department, in
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and
Treasury [relevant responsibilities are now within the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)], had a reasonable basis to believe might have
been mined, produced, or manufactured with forced or indentured child
labor. 66 FR 5353 (Jan. 18, 2001). In addition to the List, the
Department also published on January 18, 2001, ``Procedural Guidelines
for Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor
Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor,'' which provide
for maintaining, reviewing, and, as appropriate, revising the E.O.
List. 66 FR 5351 (Jan. 18, 2001).
Pursuant to sections D through G of the Procedural Guidelines, the
E.O. List may be updated through consideration of submissions by
individuals or through OCFT's own initiative. ILAB released its initial
E.O. List in 2001, and has revised it several times since then, each
time after public notice and comment as well as consultation with DOS
and DHS. As of July 13, 2022, the E.O. List comprises 34 products from
26 countries. Access to the current E.O. List, Procedural Guidelines,
and related information is available online.
Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: Interested parties
are invited to comment and provide information regarding these reports.
DOL requests comments on or information relevant to updating the
findings and suggested government actions for countries reviewed in the
TDA Report, assessing each country's individual advancement toward
eliminating the worst forms of child labor during the current reporting
period compared to previous years, and maintaining and updating the
TVPRA and E.O. Lists.
Materials submitted should be confined to the specific topics of
the TDA Report, the TVPRA List, and the E.O. List. DOL will generally
consider sources with dates up to five years old (i.e., data not older
than January 1, 2019). DOL appreciates the extent to which submissions
clearly indicate the time period to which they apply. In the interest
of transparency in our reporting, classified information will not be
accepted. Where applicable, information submitted should indicate its
source or sources, and copies of the source material should be
provided. If primary sources are utilized, such as research studies,
interviews, direct observations, or other sources of quantitative or
qualitative data, details on the research or data-gathering methodology
should be provided. Please see the TDA Report, TVPRA List, and E.O.
List for a complete explanation of relevant terms, definitions, and
reporting guidelines employed by DOL. Per our standard procedures,
submissions will be published on the ILAB web page.
IV. Section 105(b)(2)(D) of the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 mandates that ILAB ``work with
persons who are involved in the production of goods on [ILAB's List of
Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor] to create a standard set
of practices that will reduce the likelihood
[[Page 67371]]
that such persons will produce goods using [forced and child labor].''
Many firms have policies, activities, and/or systems in place to
monitor labor rights in their supply chains and remediate violations.
Such policies, activities, and systems vary depending on location,
industry, and many other factors. ILAB seeks to identify practices that
have been effective in specific contexts, analyze their replicability,
and disseminate those that have potential to be effective on a broader
scale through Comply Chain.
Information Requested and Invitation to Comment: In addition to
general comments on the existing publication of Comply Chain, ILAB is
seeking information on current practices of firms, business
associations, and other private sector groups to reduce the likelihood
of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods. ILAB
welcomes any and all input. Examples of materials could include, but
are not limited to: (1) Codes of conduct; (2) Sets of standards used
for implementation of codes in specific industries or locations or
among particular labor populations; (3) Auditing/monitoring systems, or
components of such systems, as well as related systems for enforcement
of labor standards across a supply chain; (4) Strategies for monitoring
sub-tier suppliers, informal workplaces, homework, and other
challenging environments; (5) Training modules and other mechanisms for
communicating expectations to stakeholders which incorporate worker
input; (6) Traceability models or experiences; (7) Remediation
strategies for children and/or adults found in conditions of forced or
child labor; (8) Reporting-related practices and practices related to
independent review; (9) Projects at the grassroots level which address
underlying issues or root causes of child labor or forced labor; (10)
and/or any other relevant practices.
In addition, ILAB is seeking information on current practices of
governments to collaborate with private sector actors through public-
private partnerships to reduce the likelihood of child labor and forced
labor in the production of goods. Submissions may include policy
documents, reports, statistics, case studies, and many other formats.
In addition, ILAB welcomes submissions of reports, analyses, guidance,
toolkits, and other documents in which such practices have been
compiled or analyzed by third-party groups. Information should be
submitted to the addresses and within the time period set forth above.
DOL seeks information that can be used to inform the development of
tools and resources to be disseminated publicly on the DOL website and/
or in other publications. However, in disseminating information, DOL
will conceal, to the extent permitted by law, the identity of the
submitter and/or the individual or company using the practice in
question, upon request. Internal, confidential documents that cannot be
shared with the public will not be used. Submissions containing
confidential or personal information may be redacted by DOL before
being made available to the public, in accordance with applicable laws
and regulations. DOL does not commit to responding directly to
submissions or returning submissions to the submitters, but DOL may
communicate with the submitter regarding any matters relating to the
submission.
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.
Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7112(b)(2)(C) & (D) and 19 U.S.C. 2464;
Executive Order 13126.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 25th day of September, 2023.
Thea Lee,
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-21416 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
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